Portable riveter



May 7, 1946. w. BLAIR PORTABLE RIVETER Filed Aug. 3, 1942 Z-Sheets-Sheetl Zmventor lr |1L p y 7, 1946. w. BLAIR 2,399,901

PORTABLE RIVETER Filed Aug. 5, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 attorneys PatentedMay 7, 1946 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PORTABLE RIVETER Walter Blair,Detroit, Mich.

Application August 3, 1942, Serial No. 453,375

12 Claims.

The present invention relates to portable riveting machines and moreparticularly, to a riveting head therefor.

The primary object of the invention, is to provide a riveting machineadapted to operate upon rivets of various sizes and lengths withoutrequiring the use of different sized riveter heads or the removal andinsertion of rivet sets of different lengths and sizes.

Another object of the invention, is to provide a head for rivetingmachines of the portable type in which the stroke of the riveter may beincreased or decreased to accommodate rivets of various sizes by themanipulation of an adjustment screw within easy reach of the operator tofacilitate the easy adjustment of the rivet set Without requiring theuse of numerous tools or other instruments.

Another object of the invention is to provide a portable riveter headhaving a rivet set which is operated hydraulically by means of a forceplunger likewise operated by a force plunger of increased diameterthrough the medium of a me chanical wedge connection adapted to multiplythe force applied to the rivet set force plunger thereby increasing themechanical advantage and force applied to the rivet set.

Another object of the invention, is to provide a riveter head of thehydraulic type having an adjustable chamber controlled by a plungercapable of movement in and out of the chamber so as to increase ordecrease the length of the stroke of the rivet set which distance may beaccurately indicated upon a suitable gauge carried by the riveter headand operated by the plunger,

Another object of the invention is to provide a riveter head of thehydraulic type as set forth in the preceding objects wherein all of theplungers incident to the transmission system are automatically sealedagainst the escape of fluid by means of a novel back pressure fluid sealdevice built into the rivet head and controlled by the force plunger.

Another object of th invention is to provide a riveter head of the abovementioned character in which the force plunger operate on itspressurestroke to withdraw a portion of the fluid or sealing medium in the fluidseal so that on the return stroke, the excess sealing liquid will bereturned to the transmission system.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparentduring the course of the following description of the accompanyingdrawings wherein:

Figure l is-a longitudinal cross sectional view of 7 the riveter headembodying the invention illustrating the rivet set, its force plungerand the manner of adjusting the stroke of the rivet set as well asthefiuid seal system therefor.

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the riveter head illustrating in detailthe gauge for determining the riveter set stroke and showing the mannerin which the riveter head is applied t a conventional combined handleand operating plunger.

Figure 3 is a vertical cross sectional view taken on line 33 of Figure 1looking in the direction of the arrows illustrating in detail, the portsinterconnecting the force plunger chamber and the adjustment chamber.

Figure 4 is a vertical cross sectional view taken on line 4-4 of Figure1 looking in the direction of the arrows illustrating in detail, theformation of the liquid sealing chambers encircling the force plungerand the rivet set adjusting plunger.

Figure 5 is a vertical cross sectional view taken on line 5--5 of Figure1 looking in the direction of the arrows illustrating the location ofthe inlet and outlet valves communicating with the space behind theforce plunger so as to induce suction upon the sealing chambers towithdraw excess sealing liquid therefrom.

Figure 6 is a vertical cross sectional view taken on line 6--6 of Figure1 looking in the direction of the arrows illustrating the force plungerpackin gland and further showing th control valve for the sealingchambers and the adjusting plunger and;

Figure '7 is a horizontal cross sectional view taken on line 11 ofFigure 1 looking in the direction of the arrows further illustrating therivet set plunger and the liquid seal chamber therefor.

Fig. 8 is a vertical sectional view along line 8--8 of Fig. 1 looking inthe direction of the arrows further illustrating details of theadjustable plunger and indicator therefor.

In the drawings, wherein for the purpose of illustrating the inventionand wherein like reference characters will be employed to designate likeparts throughout the same, the reference character 5 will generally beemployed to designate a riveter head adapted to be attached to acombined handle or grip and an actuating plunger cylinder. The riveterhead 5 is formed of a solid piece of metal and is shaped to provide ayoke having arms 1 and 8. The rear portion of the rivet head 5 isprovided with parallel extensions 9 between which is inserted aprojection Ill formed integral with the combined handle grip andactuating plunger structure. Bolts H extend through the parallelextensions 9 and through spaced openings I2 in the projection I so thatnuts I3 may be threaded on the free ends of the bolts to securely clampthe riveter head to the handle grip 6.

Transversely extending through the yoke arm 1 adjacent the end thereofis a bore I4 screwthreacled at the upper end as at I5 for receiving aclosure plug I6 having external screw threads I! for threadedly engagingthe screw threads I5. A sealing ring I8 is interposed between theclosure plug and the riveter head to prevent the escape of the pressurefluid. Reciprocably mounted in the bor I4 is a rivet set plunger I9which is formed tubular for a portion of its length to provide a springhousing chamber 29. The opposite end of the rivet set plunger projectsthrough the bore I4 to provide a rivet set 2I. The other yoke arm 8projects beneath the rivet set 2| as at 22 to provide an anvil or dolly.The yoke arms 1 and 8 may be curved as shown in Figure 2 to present afinished appearance and the elimination of corners which would be likelyto damage the work upon which the riveter is used.

Extending inwardly from the rear wall of the riveter head is alongitudinal bore 23 providing a pressure chamber 24 terminating a shortdistance inwardly from the transverse bore I4. The rear end of the bore23 is enlarged and is screw threaded as at 25 for receiving a gland nut26 having a packing ring 21. The gland nut 26 is provided with a bore 28in which is slidably mounted a piston rod 29 on the free end of which isformed a piston plunger 30. A coil spring 3| is located in thecompression chamber 24 to normally urge the piston plunger 39 toward therear end of the riveter head and likewise, a coil spring 32 is mountedin the spring housing chamber 29 of the rivet set plunger 19 and saidcoil spring has its upper end hooked over an eye 33 carried by the plugI6, while its opposite end is hooked into an expansible eye member 34having its free ends seated in suitable diametrically disposed openings35.

The fluid pressure chamber 24 is in communication with an offsetpassageway 36, one end of which communicates with the fluid pressurechamber 24 through an opening 31 while the opposite end communicateswith the upper end of the rivet set bore I4 by means of a passageway 36and interconnecting passageway 39. It will be obvious that forwardmotion of the piston plunger 39 will transmit a corresponding amount offorce and motion to the rivet set plunger I9 when the chambers 24 and I4are filled with liquid since both chambers are of substantially the samesize and the plunger areas are likewise substantially equal.

The passageway opening 38 also communicates with a longitudinallyextending bore 49 extending inwardly from the rear wall of the rivet setand terminating a short distance from the bore I4. The forward portionof the bore 40 provides a chamber 4| the capacity of which may becontrolled by means of a plunger 42 adjustably mounted therein. The rearportion or the adjusting plunger 42 is enlarged and screw threaded as at43 for being threadedly received in an enlarged and threaded portion ofthe bore 49 as at 44. A kerf 45 is cut in the extreme rear end of theadjustable plunger 42 so that a screw driver or the like may be insertedin the enlarged bore 44 and received in the kerf 45 to facilitate therotation and resulting adjustment of the plunger 42. Communicating withthe bore 40 adjacent the rear end thereof is a slot 46 extendinglongitudinally of the riveter head and said slot is adapted to form aslideway for a dovetailed slide 41. As shown in Figure 8, thelongitudinally extending slot 46 is undercut to receive the bevelededges of the slide 4'! and said slide is provided with a pin 48projecting into the bore and extending into an annular groove 49 formedin the adjustable plunger 42. A pointer 50 is secured to the slide 4l'and is adapted to register with a series of graduations 5| marked on thetop wall of the riveter head whereby the exact distance of theadjustable plunger 42 is moved may be indicated in units of length.

It is to be noted, that the adjustable plunger 42 is of substantiallythe same diameter as the plunger piston 39 so that by moving theadjustable plunger 42 inward or outward with respect to the chamber Mthe rivet set plunger I9 will likewise move inwardly or outwardly of thebore [4 a corresponding distance. In this manner, a rivet B may besupported on the anvil 22 so that it may be flattened at one end toanchor the work pieces W together without requiring the operator tochange riveter heads or to alter the construction of the riveter plungerI9.

' In order to prevent the escape of the fluid pressure medium, the bores23, I4 and 40 are provided with means for collecting excess liquid andreturning it to the pressure side of the operating plunger 39. As shownclearly in Figure 1, the bore I4 is provided adjacent its lower end withan annular liquid collection groove and combined sealing chamber 52 inwhich is collected excess liquid finding its way between the bore I4 andthe rivet set plunger I9 and in effect, forming a liquid sealtherebetween. A similar annular groove 53 is formed in the bore 23 andthe piston plunger 39. A longitudinally extending passageway 54 connectsthe annular grooves 52 and 53 as shown clearly in Figure 1. Likewise, anannular groove 55 is formed in the intermediate portion of the bore 40in the region of the piston operating port on of the bore and saidannular groove is connected to the annular groove 53 by means of atransverse passageway 56 likewise shown in Figures 1 and 4.

Formed in the rear portion of the riveter head and extending inwardlythereof is an enlarged screw-threaded bore 57 having a reduced portion58 in communication with the transverse passageway 56 by means of aninterconnecting longitudinal passageway 59. A spring loaded ball valve63 is mounted in the reduced bore 58 and is adapted to be urged intoengagement with a seat 6| by means of a coil spring 62 having one endengaging the ball valve 69 and its opposite end engaging a plug 63threaded in the screwthreaded opening 51. The screw-threaded plug 63 isprovided with a longitudinal bore 65 communicating with the reducedportion 58 of the bore 51, and said plug 63 is provided with an annulargroove 66 in communication with the longitudinal bore 65 by means ofradially extending bores 61. A passageway port 68 interconnects the bore23 rearwardly of the piston 30 with the annular groove 66 so that uponthe pressure stroke of the plunger piston 39 suction will be created inthe rear portion of the bore 23 to withdraw excess fluid pressure mediumfrom the grooves 52, 53 and 55.

The rear portion of the screw-threaded plug 63 is provided with aninwardly extending bore 69 having a valve seat 19 upon which is seated aball valve II to close the rear end of the bore 61 upon the forwardtravel of the fluid piston plunger 30.

Upon the rearward travel of the piston plunger 30, the excess liquidinthe bore 23 is forced rearwardly through the axial bore 65 of thescrewthreaded plug 63 and unseats the valve H from its seat 10 againstthe action of a coil spring 12 having one end engaging the ball valveand its opposite end engaging a screw-threaded plug 13 threaded into thebore 51. The liquid thus forced past the ball valve H is returned to thechambers 24 and 4| by means of a longitudinally extending passageway 14the forward end of which is in communication with the transverse bore 51by means of an angular passageway 15. It will be seen, that upon therearward travel or return motion of the piston plunger 30, the excessliquid collected in the bore 23 by the suction stroke of the piston onthe opposite side of the compression chamber 24 will find its way backto the com pression side of the piston plunger 30 and will not leak fromthe bores I4, 23 and 40.

It is to be noted, that the rear portion of the plunger rod 29 projectsbetween the wing extensions 9 so that the free end thereof will beengaged by a rock lever 76 pivoted between a pair of upstanding ears l1formed integral with the handlegrip extension H1. The rocking lever I6is supported on a pin 18 extending through the ears I? and through abearing portion 19 formed on the rocking lever and said rocking lever isprovided with a plunger rod engaging portion 80 contacting the free endof the plunger rod 29 The rocking lever. 16 is bifurcated as at 8|, anda cam engaging roller 82 is mounted between the bifurcations and isrotatably mounted upon a pin 83.

The handle grip 6 has its cylinder portion 84 provided with a piston 86which is forced toward opposite ends of the cylinder 84 by admittingfluid under pressure to opposite sides thereof through the portpassageways 81 and 88. A piston rod 89 is secured to the piston 86 andprojects through the front Wall of the cylinder 84 through an openingtherein as at 90. Secured to the piston rod 89 on the outer end thereofis a sliding cam block 9| adapted to be slidably moved over the top wallof the projection along the surface 92 thereof. The cam block BI isprovided with a cam surface 93 extending rearwardly from the forwardportion thereof which is adapted to enga e the roller 82 and rock thelever 16 a considerable distance during the initial movement. of thepiston 86. After the cam block 9| has moved forward the cam surface 94is presented to the roller 82 to impart a powerful final impulse to thepiston plunger 30 with the resultant final impulse to the rivet set 2|thereby causing the rivet R to be upset in the usual manner.

Fluid under pressure may be admitted to opposite sides of the piston 86from a suitable source of fluid pressure supply and a valve may beinterposed in the passageways 81 and 88 for controlling the fluid underpressure to the cylinder 84.

In operation, the riveter head may be employed for upsetting rivets by asqueeze or pressure action produced by extremely high pressure. Theriveter head may be presented to the work W so that the head of therivet R rests upon the anvil 22. The valve (not shown) may then beoperated to admit fiuid under pressure to the cylinder 84 through thepassageway 88, whereupon the Wedge block 9| will tile the lever 16 toforce the plunger 30 inwardly a considerable distance during the initialportion of the stroke of the piston 86. When the cam surface 94 engagesthe roller 82, the

piston plunger 30 will move slower but will exert an increased pressureupon the rivet set plunger l9, thereby causing the rivet set 2! todeform the rivet R. Should it be desired to operate upon rivets ofvarious lengths, the plunger 42 may be moved inwardly or outwardly withrespect to the chamber 4| thereby moving the rivet set plunger l9inwardly or outwardly of the bore I4 a corresporiding distance. markedto determine the distance between the rivet set 2i and the anvil 22which distance will be proportional to the movement of the plunger 42.After the operator has set the plunger 42 so that the pointer 50registers with one of the graduation marks 5|, the cycle of operation isagain. carried out to force the rivet set plunger home on the rivet Rwhich will be of a different size than the one operated upon prior tothe adjustment of the plunger 42.

By reason of the unique construction, rivets in various positions may beoperated upon and particularly, rivets which are in corners or the likemay be easily operated upon by presenting th riveter head thereto atvarious angles.

It is to be understood, that the form of the invention herewith shownand described is to be taken asa preferred embodiment of the inventionand that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts maybe resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or thescope of the subjoined claims.

What I 'claim is:

1. A riveting machine comprising, a yoke, a rivet set plungerreciprocably mounted in a chamber formed in one arm of theyoke, a fluidpressure operated plunger reciprocably mounted in abore formed in saidyoke in communication with said chamber for exerting pressure on therivet set plunger and a manually adjustable plunger slidably fitted inanother bore in said yoke having communication with the rivet setchamber and said first-mentioned bore for varying the stroke of therivet set plunger independently of the fiuid pressure operated plungerto accommodate rivets of various sizes.

2. A riveting machine, comprising a yoke having a chamber formed in oneof its arms, a rivet set plunger mounted in the chamber, a coil springattached to said plunger to retract the same within the chamber, acompression chamber formed in the yoke in communication with the rivetset plunger chamber a compression piston in said compression chamber toproject said rivet set plunger against the tension of said spring a variable chamber having communication with both of said first mentionedchambers and a manually controlled adjusting plunger slidably fittedwithin the variable chamber to regulate the stroke of the rivet setplunger by forcing said rivet set plunger outward against the tension ofthe coil spring independently of the operation of the compressionpiston.

8;A riveting machine, comprising, a yoke having a transverse bore in oneof its arms. a rivet set plunger mounted in said bore, a coil springsecured in said bore and anchored to the rivet set plunger a forceplunger mounted in a bore at right angles to the transverse bore, saidbores The graduations 5| may be ing plunger to indicate the distancebetween the rivet set plunger and the other yoke arm.

4. A riveting machine, comprising, a yoke having a transverse bore inone of its arms, a rivet set plunger mounted in said bore, retentionmeans for urging the rivet set plunger inwardly of the bore, a forceplunger reciprocably mounted in another bore in the yoke incommunication with the first mentioned bore, a variable chamber incommunication with one of the above mentioned bores, an adjustableplunger mounted in the chamber and an indicator carried by theadjustable plunger for indicating the distance between the rivet setplunger and the other yoke arm.

5. A riveting machine, comprising, a yoke having transverse andlongitudinal bores in communication with one another, a rivet setplunger mounted in the transverse bore, a force plunger mounted in thelongitudinal bore a variable chamber communicating with one of saidbores and a manually controlled adjustable plunger slidably fitted insaid variable chamber to regulate the stroke of the rivet set plungerindependent of the movement of the force plunger.

6. A portable riveting machine, comprising a l head in the form of ayoke having a transverse bore in one of the yoke arms and a pair ofparallel bores extending at right angles thereto and in communicationtherewith, a rivet set plunger mounted in the transverse bore, a forceplunger mounted in one of the longitudinal bores to project the rivetset plunger, a variable and adjustable plunger mounted in the otherlongitudinal bore to regulate the stroke of the rivet set plunger, eachof said bores being provided with annular grooves for the collection andreception of the compression fluid and means for returning said fluid tothe bores.

7. A portable riveting machine, comprising a yoke head having atransverse bore in one of its arms and a pair of parallel bores at rightangles thereto and in communication therewith and with one another, arivet set plunger mounted in the transverse bore movable toward theother yoke arm, a retention device retracting said plunger, a forceplunger mounted in one of the longitudinal bores to act upon fluidcontained in the bores and project the rivet set plunger, and a manuallycontrolled adjustable plunger mounted in the Other longitudinal bore toregulate the stroke of the rivet r set plunger independently of themovement of the force plunger.

8. A portable riveter, comprising a yoke head having a transverse borein one of its arms and a pair of parallel bores in communication with:

the inner end of the transverse bore, a rivet set plunger mounted in thetransverse bore, a force plunger mounted in one of the parallel bores,an adjustable plunger fitted in the other parallel bore means forexerting pressure on the force having a transverse bore in one of itsarms, and a pair of parallel bores in communication with one endthereof, each of said bores being filled with a liquid material, a rivetset plunger in the transverse bore, an adjustable plunger slidablyfitted in the other bore a force plunger in one of the parallel bores,means for exerting pressure on the force plunger to project the rivetset plunger, a spring connected to the rivet set plunger at one of itsends and to the bore at its other end for retracting the rivet setplunger, means for varying the position of the adjustable plunger forcausing a like adjusting movement to be imparted to the rivet setplunger and means controlled by the last named means for indicating thedistance said rivet set plunger is varied with respect to the other armof the yoke.

10. A riveting machine, comprising a yoke, a rivet set plunger mountedin a bore in one arm of the yoke, a pressure-operated force plungermounted in another bore in the yoke to exert pressure on the rivet setplunger, and a manually controlled adjustable plunger slidably fittedwithin a chamber in the yoke in communication with said bores andinterposed between the force plunger and rivet set plunger and parallelwith the force plunger for regulating the stroke of the rivet setplunger independently of the force plunger, said adjusting plunger beingof substantially the same size as the rivet set plunger so that movementof the adjusting plunger will move the rivet set plunger a correspondingamount.

11. A riveting machine, comprising a yoke, a chamber formed in one ofthe arms of the yoke, a rivet set plunger mounted in the chamber, aspring connecting said rivet set plunger fo retracting the same, a forceplunger reciprocably mounted in another chamber in the yoke incommunication with the first-mentioned chamber for projecting said rivetset plunger against the tension of said spring, a variable chamberinterposed between said chambers, and a manually controlled adjustableplunger slidably fitted in said variable chamber to regulate the strokeof the rivet set plunger independently of the force plunger, saidadjusting plunger being of substantially the same size as the rivet setplunger so that movement of the adjusting plunger will move the rivetset plunger a corresponding amount.

12. A riveting machine, comprising a yoke having a chamber formed in onearm thereof, a rivet set plunger mounted in the chamber, a coil springfor retracting said rivet set plunger, a force plunger reciprocablymounted in another chamber formed in the yoke having communication withthe rivet set chamber for projecting said plunger against the tension ofsaid coil spring, a variable chamber in communication with the rivet setplunger chamber and force plunger chamber, and a manually controlledadjustable plunger slidably fitted within said variable chamber .toregulate the stroke of the rivet set plunger independently of the forceplunger, said adjusting plunger being of substantially the same size asthe rivet set plunger so that movement of

